Sickness from bug bites is spreading rapidly — CDC

Our prolonged winter won’t do much to help reduce the number of ticks.

The a female mosquito begins to bite the photographer’s hand at Everglades National Park Aug. 12, 2002 in Flamingo, Florida.

The third goal outlined by the senator is to create a reliable method of testing for Lyme disease, as the current method is not completely accurate, producing false positives and false negatives at an “unacceptable” rate. For most viruses spread by mosquitoes, no vaccines or medicines are available. Some will hibernate in enclosed spaces, like garages, sheds, and under (or inside) homes, to survive cold temperatures. The illnesses include cases of West Nile virus, Lyme disease and Zika virus.

The report also notes that the disease-carrying mosquito species Aedes aegypti has been expanding its range throughout the continental United States and is now prevalent in at least 38 states.

People who travel overseas are also contributing to the increase in insect-borne illnesses by picking up these illnesses and bringing them back to the United States.

In 2004, the agency recorded more than 27,000 vector-borne disease cases.

Reed says if you plan on hiking or being outdoors, wear repellent along with trousers and a long-sleeved shirt.

Keep mosquitoes outside: Use air conditioning or window and door screens. Finding an insect on the body, remove it immediately using tweezers, disinfect the bite site and wash your hands.

But if you know where to go you can avoid areas where there’s an uptick of the pests. It’s a monster truck that can get into those hard-to-reach marshy areas without getting stuck. Diseases spread by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika viruses, were nearly exclusively transmitted in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headaches, joint and muscle pain, and a bulls-eye rash.

What can state and local public health agencies do?

More proven and publicly accepted mosquito and tick control methods are needed to prevent and control these diseases. The CDC said these organizations require improvement in one or more of five “core competencies”, such as testing for pesticide resistance.

Ticks, the carriers of Lyme disease, seem to be the most risky – accounting for 63 percent of the reported illnesses.

This is because of increased global travel, and the diseases travelers bring home.

The ticks come out in the late spring and summer and are hard to locate due to their small size.

Developing and improving laboratory and diagnostic tests for these diseases. The most ubiquitous biting insect in Illinois is the Indian floodwater mosquito, which rarely transmits any diseases, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.